'Romeo and Juliet' is getting a modern makeover by Kenan Theatre Company

Kenan Theatre Company is producing "Shakespeare's R+J," an adaptation by Joe Calarco. The modern interpretation of Shakespeare's classic, Romeo and Juliet, rotates between an all male and an all female cast of undergraduate students. The show opens February 27th and runs through March 3rd in the Elizabeth Prince Kenan Theater in the UNC Center for Dramatic Art.

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This spring, Kenan Theatre Company is putting on "Romeo and Juliet" with a twist — the play will focus on changing gender norms and modernizing the typical style of the show. The goal of the show will be to see how the changes made will alter the overall ambiance of the play.

“I’m just fascinated by the idea of how we’re switching the genders of the two lead roles," said sophomore Elizabeth Durham, one of the producers of the play. "There will be other switches as well, and some of the roles are remaining the same just for purposes of telling a story that suits what we want to say."

One aspect of the play that will remain the same is the strict and traditional role of the parents. Jennifer Latimer, the director of the show, said the parents will be represented in heterosexual relationships to emphasize that they are not progressive.

On Sunday, Jan. 13, 2019 and Monday, Jan. 14, 2019, Kenan Theatre Company will be holding auditions for their production of the Shakespearean classic “Romeo and Juliet” from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Actors are encouraged to prepare a modern Shakespearean monologue of no more than 15 lines for the audition and to behave as themselves, not the gender of their character.

“What we’re mostly doing is looking at the actors who audition and fitting them to parts, not fitting them based on their gender," Durham said. "Also the set will be really cool, so I’m excited for that because we’re actually switching up the layout of the theater itself, so that’s something to look forward to as well."

Durham said the show will be fun and meaningful, since it aims to portray a message about gender to the audience.

“'Romeo and Juliet' is such a classic story, and I’ve always loved Shakespeare in general," Lizzy Campbell, a first-year student planning to audition for the show, said, "I think it’s a really awesome idea to twist the gender roles."

Campbell said the bending of gender roles will be interesting because the theater community has always challenged gender norms. She considers herself to be a comedic actress and plans to audition for one of the comical characters, like one of Romeo's "buds."

“I was actually added recently to the show, but I know that they wanted to do Shakespeare with a twist," said sophomore Zach Eanes, a producer of the play. "We’ve had a lot of very talented people working on this show. I’m just excited to start working on this show and get through auditions and just see how amazing this show can really be."